FAA plans $835M tower upgrades

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on May 15 that the Department of Transportation will spend $835.8 million on air traffic control facility upgrades across the United States. The package includes more than $750 million to replace eight air traffic control towers and terminal radar approach control facilities, plus $85.8 million for upgrades at 41 Federal Contract Towers in 24 states. (transportation.gov) The announcement came from the Transportation Department and the Federal Aviation Administration, which said many of the affected facilities are decades old. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the spending will replace aging infrastructure with new towers and equipment intended to improve reliability and support the national airspace system. ### Where is the money going? (transportation.gov) The Transportation Department said more than $750 million will go to full replacements of eight air traffic control facilities. The listed locations are Charleston, South Carolina; Grand Forks, North Dakota; Greer, South Carolina; Lawton, Oklahoma; Pocatello, Idaho; Sacramento, California; San Jose, California; and Tamiami, Florida. The FAA said a separate $85.8 million will be distributed through its Federal Contract Tower program. Those grants will support improvements at 41 airports across 24 states, with projects ranging from building work to equipment replacement. ### Why are these towers being replaced now? (transportation.gov) The FAA said many of the facilities selected for replacement are decades old. The agency said failing infrastructure — including HVAC systems, leaking roofs and pest problems — has interrupted air traffic services. A Government Accountability Office report issued in 2024 said 51 of the FAA’s 138 air traffic control systems were classified as unsustainable and 54 more as potentially unsustainable. (transportation.gov) GAO said many of those systems have critical operational effects on the safety and efficiency of the national airspace and said FAA had been slow to modernize some especially concerning systems. ### What are Federal Contract Towers, and what will change there? The FAA said Federal Contract Towers are staffed by contract personnel rather than FAA employees. (transportation.gov) The agency said the program receives $20 million annually over five years to modernize towers, improve infrastructure and install communications and air traffic control equipment. The FAA said the new grants will pay for items including windows, heating and cooling systems, elevators and roof replacements. The agency also said the funding will replace obsolete tower equipment such as radios, automated voice recorders and airport lighting controls. ### Which airports were named in the first batch of grant details? (gao.gov) The FAA said Acadiana Regional Airport will receive $915,000 for facility improvements. Marana Regional Airport will receive $800,000 for design work on a new sponsor-owned contract tower, Missoula County Airport Authority will receive $1 million to modernize key infrastructure, and Wiley Post Airport will receive $10 million to construct a new sponsor-owned tower. (transportation.gov) Those examples were included as project illustrations, not a full state-by-state list. The Transportation Department said additional updates will follow. ### Could local land-use rules still complicate airport projects? (faa.gov) The FAA says local governments, not the federal government, control most off-airport land use and zoning decisions. In its land-use guidance, the agency says local planners and elected officials are responsible for zoning and land-use regulations around airports. That means some airport-related projects can still depend on local approvals or compatibility planning even when federal money is available. The FAA’s guidance says the federal government can help coordinate, but it does not directly control off-airport land uses. (transportation.gov) ### What happens next? The FAA said the eight replacement towers will be equipped as part of what it called a brand-new air traffic control system being built by the Trump administration. (transportation.gov) The department did not publish completion dates in the May 15 announcement. The next public details are likely to come from FAA and Transportation Department grant updates naming additional contract-tower projects and procurement steps for the eight replacement sites. (faa.gov) The May 15 announcement said more updates would follow as the projects move ahead. (transportation.gov)